Splash guard for scrubbing machines

ABSTRACT

A splash guard for scrubbing machines removably held around the perifery of a scrubbing machine wherein relatively large circular brushes are rotatably mounted. Said machines, in use, continually throw dirty water outwardly with some centrifugal force around the entire machine, the splash guard preventing such dirty water reaching base boards and the like when the machine is maneuvered closely thereto.

wlliied States Patent 1 Carden [54] SPLASH GUARD FOR SCRUBBING MACHINES [76] Inventor: Charles A. Carden, 6332 West 26th Street, Berwyn, Ill. 60402 22 Filed: Aug. 30, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 176,002

[52] 11.8. Cl. ..l5/49 R, 15/246 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47l 11/162 [58] Field of Search ..l5/49 R, 50 R, 98, 15/246; 51/177 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,981,966 5/1961 Beffel ..l5/246 3,010,135 11/1961 Pollnow, Jr ..l5/246 51 May 22,1973

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 760,464 10/1956 Great Britain ..lS/246 Primary ExaminerEdward L. Roberts Attorney-Sabin C. Bronson [57] ABSTRACT A splash guard for scrubbing machines removably held around the perifery of a scrubbing machine wherein relatively large circular brushes are rotatably mounted. Said machines, in use, continually throw dirty water outwardly with some centrifugal force around the entire machine, the splash guard preventing such dirty water reaching base boards and the like when the machine is maneuvered closely thereto.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures SPLASH GUARD FOR SCRUBBING MACHINES BACKGROUND SUMMARY DRAWINGS Commercial scrubbing machines in use today are usually driven by an electric motor mounted with its rotor axis vertically on a circular housing enclosing a floor scrubbing brush or brushes, for scrubbing a floor wetted with soap and water or detergent and then moving the machine thereover to cleanse the floor. When such machines are operated close to a vertical wall of the room, baseboards, particularly, and the wall immediately thereabove are frequently splashed with the dirty soapy wash water, necessitating extra work of the operator in sponging off the splash.

It therefore becomes necessary to provide some means of preventing the splash from reaching vertical surfaces near which the machine is operated.

Several attempts have been made to do this job effectively and in their own way have succeeded. For exam ple, splash guards for scrubbing machines have been used and are shown in US. Pat. Nos. 2,986,756, 3,010,135 and 3,122,769. The splash guards shown in these patents are fairly representative of the prior art.

All of the guards of the prior art are preformed to the shape of and fit the particular scrubbing machine with which they are used.

My splash guard is formed of somewhat flexible material so that it can be removably applied easily to practically any hand operated commercial floor machine. In cleaning large rooms or halls the guard is not needed, and may be removed, and then quickly applied when cleaning floor near the walls. Being of resilient material, as well as flexible, the guard holds itself rather firmly in place on the machine when applied thereto, which is the principal object of the invention.

In the drawings, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral views and embodiments:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scrubbing machine with the splash guard applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the splash guard and its retaining resilient and flexible bands for attaching same to a machine;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the scrubbing machine of FIG. 1, and a diametric cross-sectional view of the splash guard as applied thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS rotation of the motor coincident with the center of the housing, and with the shaft of the motor, not shown, extending down into the housing and on which shaft the circular brush 14 is attached for rotation by the motor when energized. An operating handle 16 is pivotally attached to the housing adjacent the motor and by which the machine may be maneuvered over the floor to be scrubbed.

To confine the splash from the rotating brush 14 as it is moved over the floor by the operator, a cylindrical splash guard 18 is provided to almost completely surround the machine as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, and thereby confine substantially all the splash therein. The ends 20 of the splash guard are spaced sufficiently to allow the mounting of the pivotal handle 16 to project outwardly therebetween.

A resilient band 22 connects the ends 20 of the splash guard 18 together so as to hold the guard in place on the machine while it is being operated. A second resilient band 24 is connected at its ends to the splash guard at points substantially opposite the ends 20-20 of the splash guard. The connection of the ends of this band 24 to the splash guard is by means of links 2626 so that the resilient band may be stretched over the motor housing as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 and thereby additionally hold the splash guard in place as the machine is used.

The splash guard is formed of a flexible water proof and acid resisting material, of a width to extend from the floor to above the top of the brush housing 10, and to confine the splash therein.

1 claim:

1. The combination with a scrubbing machine having a rotating scrubbing means mounted within a hollow housing, and a motor mounted on said housing for selectively rotating said means, of a splash guard comprising an annular skirt partially surrounding said housing, the space between the ends of the skirt allowing an operating handle to project outwardly from the machine for an operator to maneuver the machine over the surface being scrubbed, a resilient band connecting the ends of he skirt to cause the skirt to embrace the housing, and remain in place during the scrubbing operation, a second resilient band connected at its ends to the skirt at spaced points opposite to the ends of said skirt, said second band being extendable over the motor to hold the splash guard yieldingly secure about the machine when applied thereto.

2. The splash guard structure of claim 1, wherein said skirt is of a width to extend from the surface being scrubbed to a plane above the hollow housing, thereby effectively confining splash from the rotating means within the guard. 

1. The combination with a scrubbing machine having a rotating scrubbing means mounted within a hollow housing, and a motor mounted on said housing for selectively rotating said means, of a splash guard comprising an annular skirt partially surrounding said housing, the space between the ends of the skirt allowing an operating handle to project outwardly from the machine for an operator to maneuver the machine over the surface being scrubbed, a resilient band connecting the ends of he skirt to cause the skirt to embrace the housing, and remain in place during the scrubbing operation, a second resilient band connected at its ends to the skirt at spaced points opposite to the ends of said skirt, said second band being extendable over the motor to hold the splash guard yieldingly secure about the machine when applied thereto.
 2. The splash guard structure of claim 1, wherein said skirt is of a width to extend from the surface being scrubbed to a plane above the hollow housing, thereby effectively confining splash from the rotating means within the guard. 